Stir into flame the gift of God
American Catholics, along with many U.S. citizens of other faiths or no faith, express their deep respect for the dignity of life in many ways. For example, the Catholic impulse is to strongly condemn murder or acts of violence, question capital punishment, and protest policies that condone torture. Yet, when it comes to the basic issue of life - protecting the unborn - many Catholics are reluctant to speak out.
In Washington, D.C., on Jan. 22, an estimated crowd of between 150,000 and 200,000 people participated in the 2009 March for Life, an event held in the nation's capital every year since the 1973 Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision struck down state laws and made unrestricted abortion the law of the land.
But in a nation of 61 million Catholics, we would suggest that the national March for Life should have numbered two or three million participants.
In San Francisco on Jan. 24, more than 30,000 people participated in the 5th Annual Walk for Life West Coast. This event, originally conceived by San Francisco and Bay Area Catholics, has grown from 5,000 walkers in 2005 to more than six times that number in 2009.
But in a region that includes nearly two million Catholics, we would suggest that the Walk for Life West Coast should have numbered 150,000 to 200,000 participants.
Nonetheless, these two pro-life events - one on the East Coast, one on the West Coast - are wonderful examples of Catholics living out their faith and giving witness to the sanctity of life.
Among the participants were many young people - a sign that the torch of the pro-life movement is being passed to a new generation. The entire Catholic Church owes a huge debt of gratitude to the staunch advocates for life - mostly lay Catholic women, who have carried the burden for 36 years.
We believe that more Catholics should join with these young people, and the veterans of the pro-life movement, in witnessing for life and speaking out on the issue of abortion.
We should take unto ourselves the counsel that St. Paul provided to Timothy, urging him to "stir into flame the gift of God." In his letter to Timothy, St. Paul says, "For God did not give us a spirit of cowardice but rather of power and love and self-control. So do not be ashamed of your testimony to our Lord, but bear your share of hardship for the Gospel with the strength that comes from God." (2 Tm 1; 1-8)
There now is an urgent and much greater need for Catholics to speak out on American policies regarding abortion. One day before the national March for Life, President Obama - in one of his first acts - overturned the so-called Mexico City Policy, under which funds in the U.S. "population assistance" program go only to overseas organizations that pledge not to "perform or actively promote abortion as a method of family planning."
Less than a week before the inauguration of the new president, Cardinal Francis George, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, had written to the president-elect urging him to retain this policy.
Douglas Johnson, legislative director for the National Right to Life Committee, called the president's action the first in an anticipated series of attacks on longstanding pro-life policies. Johnson said the strenuously pro-abortion agenda of the Obama Administration includes repeal of the Hyde Amendment, which would result in tax-funded abortion as a birth control method in the U.S., and imposition of sweeping pro-abortion mandates on private employers through health-care "reform" legislation.
According to the NRLC, one effect of the order will be to divert many millions of dollars away from groups that do not promote abortion, and into the hands of those organizations, like International Planned Parenthood Federation, that are the most aggressive in promoting abortion in developing countries as a method of population control.
Cardinal Justin Rigali, chairman of the U.S. Bishops' Committee on Pro-Life Activities, in a Jan 23 statement said, "It is very disappointing that President Obama has reversed the Mexico City Policy, which prevents U.S. funding of organizations that perform and promote abortion as a family planning method in developing nations. An Administration that wants to reduce abortions should not divert U.S. funds to groups that promote abortions."
Deirdre McQuade, assistant director for policy and communications at the USCCB's Secretariat of Pro-Life Activities, said pro-abortion groups have already sent a comprehensive 55-page blueprint for their agenda to the incoming Administration - an agenda that includes publicly-funded abortions, passage of the so-called Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA), and attacks on longstanding pro-life provisions in appropriations bills. For more information visit www.usccb.org.
McQuade said, "Widely supported, constitutionally valid measures, some of which have been proven effective in reducing abortion rates, are now seriously threatened by abortion advocates and their allies in Congress. On behalf of children and their mothers, we will have to fight to keep such laws in place."
We urge you to become more actively involved in the pro-life struggle and "not be ashamed of your testimony to our Lord, but bear your share of hardship for the Gospel with the strength that comes from God."
By Maurice E. Healy
From January 30, 2009 issue of Catholic San Francisco
